Intervention

Intervention.

It may be a little perverse but I love the show Intervention on A&E. If you haven't seen it it's basically a show where people have agreed to have their lives filmed while they partake in their addiction. It shows the families and what effects them and leads up to the meeting that is the name of the show or the intervention. Moments of the treatment are shown then at the end there is a brief note showing the progress.

Sounds like a tv show that gives hope and insight... right?... not if you look close.

For one thing the people with the addictions are fairly attractive. These are cute guys and cheerleader types shooting up in a back alley. It's TV after all and nobody body wants to root for the ugly one. Even if it's an ugly crack head, gamer or drunk.

Another thing is the addicts have agreed to the filming and don't realize there's an ambush waiting for them. I have to wonder how long this tactic will last or if the addicts have a network where they can warn each other about those sneaky producers.

I don't like the intervention themselves except the first moment they walk into the room and see their entire family and one stranger sitting there with written notes. This is when our little addict realizes the trap he/she's set and gets annoyed. After that I zone out since the comments from the family are plastic, cliche and need better writers.

During the treatment section the addict is so happy he/she is doing so well and the future looks bright and all the effort was worth it. Then just before the final credits roll words flash in front of the screen alerting us the viewing audience when they relapsed and what has happened to them now. These alerts are typically in one of these categories. Still sober, Relapsed once or twice or back on the streets. This gives it a game show quality.... or maybe the set up for a good drinking game. Every time someone relapses you have to do a shot.